


blooming vanilla

by lavendermidnight



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (chenle does too), Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blow Jobs, Co-workers, Explicit Sexual Content, Friends With Benefits, Hotel Sex, Light Angst, M/M, Sharing a Bed, donghyuck Yearns, not actually unrequited feelings but they're Dense, tenderness with some teasing sprinkled in
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-24
Updated: 2020-09-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:27:42
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26585116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavendermidnight/pseuds/lavendermidnight
Summary: London is cold and dreary, but the heat of Chenle's body is just enough to drive the chill from Donghyuck's bones.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 17
Kudos: 66





	blooming vanilla

**Author's Note:**

> [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0cS_h9VL8c) is the Vibe... also where i got the title

Somewhere in between the airport and the cab driver announcing that they've arrived at their destination, the rain starts in earnest.

Donghyuck looks out the cab window at the gray sky, the clouds so thick and billowing that they all blend together to swallow everything whole. Rain falls in sheets, hitting the road and the buildings and ricocheting, splattering against the glass in front of Donghyuck's face to obscure the view. This is Donghyuck's first impression of London— a city of shattered glass rains, monotone and cold.

"Thank you," Chenle says to the cab driver, sounding tired but sincere as he pays for their drive to the hotel. The sound of his voice snaps Donghyuck back to the present. The sound of his voice and his hand on Donghyuck's thigh as he leans forward to reach the front seat.

Despite the chill that seems to be wrapped around the city, Chenle's palm is warm against Donghyuck's leg, even though the fabric of his pants. Maybe Donghyuck reconsiders. Maybe London isn't so cold and dreary after all.

"We're gonna have to make a run for it," Chenle says, this time to Donghyuck as he leans back into his seat and meets Donghyuck's eyes. "You ready to get wet?"

"Yes, that's what I dreamed about the whole flight over here: finally making it to the hotel just to have to sprint through a fucking downpour," Donghyuck says flatly. Technically he knows this isn't the end of the world, but the flight was  _ long,  _ dammit, and Donghyuck doesn't particularly like looking or feeling like a drowned man when he's already tired and fighting jet lag.

"That's the spirit," Chenle says, unflinching in the face of Donghyuck's sarcasm. He squeezes Donghyuck's thigh and offers him a smile that's part encouraging and part damning all at once. It makes something kick fiercely in Donghyuck's chest, and he takes a measured breath.

"I'll race you," he says. The words fall from his lips before he's fully processed them, but he doesn't have time to second-guess when fire sparks in Chenle's eyes and he nods without a beat of hesitation.

"You're on."

And then they're both scrambling apart, reaching for each of their respective handles and flinging the cab doors open. Donghyuck's sneakers land in a puddle in the street and a wall of pouring rain slaps him in the face, cold and stinging, but he doesn't slow. He lets out a colorful curse and slams his door shut, making for the trunk of the cab so he can grab his suitcase and carry-on bag and get the hell out of the street and the rain.

Somehow, Chenle is already at the trunk, already has it open and is snatching up his things. The rain blurs his face and figure, but Donghyuck is fairly certain Chenle sticks his tongue out at him as he secures his belongings in his hands and yanks them from the trunk. Donghyuck curses again and is quick to follow suit; he unloads his things in record time, and slams the trunk closed as soon as he's gotten everything.

Chenle is already halfway to the awning at the hotel entrance when Donghyuck turns from the cab and races after him. Something must slow Chenle down, though, because they reach the cover at nearly the same time, panting and thoroughly soaked as the cab tires kick up a wave of water and it takes off down the street again.

“I think I won,” Chenle says, grinning and slightly out of breath.

Despite the cold and the water dripping down his skin, Donghyuck finds a bubble of laughter rising in his chest. Chenle's hair is plastered to his face, and he's clutching his luggage in his arms like it's a child, his eyes still wild and bright, and the whole thing feels so ridiculous to Donghyuck in that moment that the laughter bursts out of him. Donghyuck drops his suitcase wheels-down onto the ground, clutches the strap of the bag slung over his shoulder, and curls in on himself as he laughs, shivering in the chilly autumn air.

"Oh god," Chenle says, something like laughter in his voice as well, "is this the jetlag madness starting already?"

"Shut up," Donghyuck says as he takes a deep breath to try and calm himself. "This is just-" he lets out a breath that's still half of a laugh "-I'm fucking soaking wet in  _ London  _ and I haven't slept in twenty-two hours. Nothing feels real right now."

Chenle drops his suitcase down to the ground by the handle and gives Donghyuck a look he can't quite decipher. "Okay," he says, a note of amusement and something else in his voice. "Let's get checked in, then, and we can fix that."

"Sure," Donghyuck says, composing himself and waving to the main doors behind Chenle with a flourish. "Let's do that."

So Chenle spins on his heel and the two of them walk into the hotel together. The warmth hits Donghyuck first— a wave of dry heat that wraps around him as if in apology for the rainy chill outside. Donghyuck's shoes squelch a bit on the polished floors, and he eyes Chenle with a hint of envy as his footsteps are silent save the occasional squeak of water against the floor. Lucky bastard probably didn't step out of the car and straight into a puddle.

They reach the front desk and Donghyuck is endlessly relieved when Chenle walks up to the woman behind the counter and checks the both of them in at once. All Donghyuck has to do is provide identification and sign before he gets his room key-card. Chenle does all the talking, letting Donghyuck regain his bearings— what’s left of them, at least.

When they’re done, Chenle waves a pleasant goodbye to the attendant at the main desk before following Donghyuck, already on his way to the elevator that will take them up to their floor. As Chenle pulls up even with Donghyuck again and nudges his shoulder with a warm smile, like  _ see, that was easy, we’re almost home free!  _ Donghyuck is suddenly overwhelmed by the thought of kissing Chenle right then and there. He's just on the right edge of tired and wrung-out and needy that the idea of Chenle's lips on his sounds almost as perfect as a hot shower and a quick crash into a hotel bed for the longest nap of his life.

Then the elevator doors ding open and a middle aged man steps out and gives Donghyuck and Chenle a look of thinly veiled judgement before walking past them, leaving the lift open for the two of them to step in and punch in their floor number. Donghyuck’s mood dips right back down, and he leans his head back against the shining silver wall of the elevator with a sigh. Maybe he really does just need to take a quick shower and then pass out.

"I love getting dirty looks from strangers," Donghyuck says absently as the button with their floor number lights up and the lift doors close.

"Clearly he's never seen anyone who's still a ten even when soaking wet. I bet he was just shocked— jealous," Chenle muses, lips quirked up at the corners.

The elevator jerks and starts moving up, and Donghyuck looks sideways at Chenle. "You are so full of yourself," he says, shaking his head as if he's not grinning faintly now too. As if Chenle's comment hasn't eased the irritation of that stranger's distasteful gaze.

"What?" Chenle says, leaning into the teasing. "I was talking about both of us, obviously. The wet shirt look really works on you, Donghyuck."

Donghyuck rolls his eyes, but the words make a small wisp of warmth bloom in his chest. "Sure," he says, unconvinced.

Chenle stares at him, though, determined. A clump of his hair hangs down over one of his eyes, dripping water down his cheek, but he blinks, undeterred, like there's nothing there at all. Donghyuck recognizes this look from meeting rooms at work— stubborn and unyielding and absolutely certain.  _ You will believe what I believe. Somehow I'll make you see this the way I do. _

Donghyuck sighs even as his heart kicks in his chest, because that look stirs something inside of him even when it  _ isn't  _ directed right at him. Instead of saying anything, challenging Chenle in any way, he just lifts a hand carefully to the side of Chenle's face, brushing the wet hair out of his eye and tucking it into the rest of the messy black rain-tangled mop atop his head. Then, because he can't help himself, he thumbs away the water streaking Chenle's face, fingers gentle on Chenle's cheek.

All at once, the look on Chenle's face changes. His fierce determination melts into something softer, something wanting as he looks at Donghyuck. Chenle doesn't even glance at the progress of the lift before he leans forward and gets so close that Donghyuck can feel his breath, hot against his wet skin. Donghyuck's eyes slip shut— as always, he's weak for this. For Chenle.

A moment later, Chenle presses a soft kiss to Donghyuck's lips. It's fleeting, but Chenle lingers in Donghyuck's space a moment longer, breathing the same air as his eyes slowly open again.

Then the elevator  _ dings  _ at the doors open, and Chenle pulls back, cheeks faintly rosy. "Can I come to your room?" he asks lowly, eyes still trained on Donghyuck even as he reaches for the handle of his suitcase. He doesn't move a muscle to step out of the lift.

Donghyuck's lips are warm from Chenle's touch, and he can’t help feeling magnetized— drawn towards Chenle just like always, even more so now that he's gotten a taste of him. He looks at Chenle and his hand feels numb as he grabs his own suitcase. "I think we both need to shower," he says weakly, stepping out of the lift and onto the royal blue carpets stretching across the floor of the hall. As if that will keep Chenle away. As if it will keep Donghyuck away, either.

And, true to fashion, Chenle moves after him, stepping close so they're shoulder to shoulder. "I'm sure the showers here are big enough for two," he says, voice toeing the line between innocent speculation and filthy suggestion.

Donghyuck's hand clenches around the handle of his luggage and he drags in a deep breath. He can't believe this is all it takes. Can't believe he wants Chenle this badly even though he knows he shouldn't. Can't believe he's in this deep over his head and barely even fights it. Can't believe he's let it get this far and doesn’t even  _ want  _ to stop.

Chenle's free hand brushes against Donghyuck's in silent question, and just like that, he gives up trying to listen to the sensible part of his brain. It doesn't matter that this leaves him aching, that he wants more than Chenle can give him and this never quite satisfies everything Donghyuck’s heart needs. 

This is still  _ something _ — still Chenle wanting him for more than just sorting papers or discussing company drama over coffee. This is Chenle, so of course, Donghyuck says yes.

"Okay," he murmurs, leading the way down the hall to the room with his number printed on the door. He keeps his eyes trained resolutely ahead, but somehow he can  _ feel  _ Chenle smiling as they reach Donghyuck's room and he keys them in, opening the door and kicking off his wet sneakers as soon as he's through the threshold.

Donghyuck abandons his baggage on the floor just past the miniature hall leading to his room, and steps around Chenle - dropping his bags against the wall - to make it to the bathroom. He takes one look at the shower and feels something lurch inside his gut— it is indeed large enough for two, with a clear glass door and a huge, modernized square shower head. Chenle will fit perfectly in the stall with him. 

Donghyuck shivers at the thought.

Not letting himself dwell on this, though, Donghyuck peels off his wet socks and tosses them into the far corner, then wrestles with his top. Chenle steps into the bathroom with him just as Donghyuck finally frees his head from the constricting neck of his shirt, and Donghyuck tries not to pay him any mind as he begins to strip too. It's much easier said than done, and Donghyuck’s traitorous eyes keep slipping over to latch onto Chenle's figure— the curve of his neck and the muscles shifting in his back as he moves, undressing further.

Somehow Donghyuck tears his eyes away long enough to get his pants off and added to the pile, just as Chenle's clothes land in a heap on the tile floor as well. Before kicking off his boxers and sealing his fate, Donghyuck opens the shower door and reaches for the shining silver knob. He turns it as far as it will go, and the shower head sputters for a moment before the stream steadies and rains down like the gray skies outside.

Donghyuck closes the door to keep the water from slipping out and wetting the floor, and turns to find that Chenle has gathered up the bath mat and stands ready to lay it down as soon as Donghyuck steps to the side to make room for it. Donghyuck moves back, blinking in surprise as Chenle straightens up again after placing the bath mat under the shower door.

Something must show on his face, because Chenle hesitates a moment, watching Donghyuck closely. Donghyuck feels caught in his gaze, and stands frozen as another shiver races up his spine from the chill of being nearly naked and still cold from the rain. 

Chenle takes a careful step closer and touches Donghyuck's bare arm, fingers cool and gentle. "We don't have to do anything, you know," he says earnestly. "You never have to do anything you don't want to with me. I don't want you to feel like you have to say yes when I ask." His eyes are wide, serious, boring into Donghyuck, burning like a brand.

And that's the worst part. The kicker. Donghyuck _does_ want this. He wants Chenle— so badly it can't possibly be good for him. He wants this, this _thing_ that they have, even when it hurts because whatever it is for Chenle, it's something more for Donghyuck.

So Donghyuck rests a hand on Chenle's shoulder and lets a small smile play on his lips. "Thanks," he says lowly, "but it's okay. I know. I want this." As if to prove it, he leans in and kisses Chenle, tightening his grip on his shoulder for a moment before letting go and stepping back.

"Okay," Chenle breathes, eyes lidded as he looks at Donghyuck.

And then their boxers land on the piles of the rest of their discarded clothes and Donghyuck pulls Chenle into the shower with him.

The water is just on the verge of scalding as they step under it, and Chenle hisses, jerking away. It draws laughter from somewhere deep in Donghyuck's stomach, and though he prefers his showers hot enough to turn his skin red - especially after being stuck in the cold - he twists the knob to ease off the temperature. The water cools marginally, and he reaches out, taking Chenle's forearms in his hands and pulling him close again.

There's still a pout tugging at Chenle's lips at the heat of the water, but he doesn't complain, and he doesn't move again away, so Donghyuck counts it as a win. "Who knew you were so sensitive," he teases as the hot water pouring down his back eases the tension from his body and calms his pounding heart.

Chenle's pout deepens for half a second before it twists into something more like a smirk. He slips his arms free from Donghyuck's hands just to wrap them around Donghyuck's middle, pulling him closer until they're chest to chest and Donghyuck can feel the heat of Chenle's skin, the water running down his torso.

Donghyuck swallows, hands settling on Chenle's hips. Chenle smiles.

"You're one to talk about being sensitive," Chenle says with a wicked innocence in his voice. His hands slip down to Donghyuck's ass and he digs his fingers into the skin and muscle. Donghyuck can't help the small sound he lets out, and Chenle's smile grows. He could get away with anything with that smile. Arson. Grand larceny. Murder.

God knows he's already set Donghyuck ablaze and stolen his heart right out of his chest. And Donghyuck can only imagine that sooner or later, Chenle will be the death of him as well.

"You talk a big game for someone who hasn't even kissed me properly yet," Donghyuck says, willfully ignoring how breathy his voice comes out.

Something flickers in Chenle's eyes, and they look impossibly bright in the white bathroom light. "You're right," he says. "I'll fix that now." He doesn't give Donghyuck a chance to respond before pressing in and catching him in a kiss much more assured than their last two.

Donghyuck's hands roam up Chenle's back, searching for purchase before he settles for wrapping his arms around Chenle's shoulders, fingers on the back of his neck and in his hair. Chenle teases the seam of Donghyuck's lips with his tongue, and Donghyuck answers by twisting his fingers in Chenle's hair. When Chenle gasps into Donghyuck's mouth, momentarily thrown off, Donghyuck grins.

The small victory lasts only seconds before Chenle's grip on Donghyuck's ass turns bruising and he angles their hips together as he kisses with a newfound fervor. Donghyuck gets swept up in it, lost in the feeling of Chenle's tongue, the graze of his teeth, the feeling like a live-wire has touched the water they're standing in and is sending sharp snaps of electricity sparking up his body every time one of them moves even a millimeter.

When Chenle finally pulls back, nosing at Donghyuck's cheek while he catches his breath, chest heaving, Donghyuck's head is spinning. He very nearly feels weak in the knees, and he remembers exactly why he keeps coming back to Chenle, no matter how high the odds of him getting hurt are.

"Problem solved?" Chenle breathes hot against Donghyuck's skin.

Donghyuck nearly nods, before the devilish voice in his head whispers  _ don't you want more? _ So instead of saying yes, Donghyuck says, "I don't know. Kinda seemed like you weren't giving it your all."

Chenle shifts, leaning away from Donghyuck just enough to look him dead on. There are twin fires burning in his eyes, a promise of the hot lick of flames that Donghyuck has come to associate with Chenle. "Well we can't have that," Chenle says. There's an edge to his voice that makes Donghyuck shake in eager anticipation.

Donghyuck barely has time to catch his breath before Chenle turns them both to the side and pins Donghyuck back into the shower wall. The acrylic is a shock of cold to Donghyuck's shoulders, but it's all too easy to forget about it when Chenle presses his hips into Donghyuck's again and everything disappears. Everything but that point of friction and Chenle's tongue in Donghyuck's mouth.

Chenle's fingers dig into Donghyuck's muscle hard enough to bruise, and Donghyuck's hips stutter against Chenle's. Heat pools and coils in Donghyuck's gut like a snake coated in honey, thick and sweet and venomous, ready to sink its teeth into him. Donghyuck can feel Chenle's growing erection hard against him, and it makes it increasingly difficult to think about anything other than the sheer enormity of his desire for him. Terrifying and inescapable.

Chenle bites down  _ hard  _ on Donghyuck's lip and then sucks at it like he wants to leave a bruise that will linger, that will mark Donghyuck for all their business associates to see in their coming meetings. Somehow that's even more terrifying.

Donghyuck breaks away from the kiss, tipping his head back against the shower wall and breathing heavily, nearly shaking with the effort of keeping himself together. The water is only half-hitting him now in this position, but he finds he no longer needs the hot water to rain down on his skin like he had before, now that he feels heated from the inside out. Now that he feels like his insides are boiling, skin steaming.

Being with Chenle like this feels like standing in direct sunlight— hot and bright and with the ever-present danger of being burned. It's a risk Donghyuck is willing to take. Over and over again. Now is no exception.

Donghyuck lifts his head from the wall, looking at Chenle long enough to see that his eyes have turned dark as coals, with just as much explosive potential for fire. Donghyuck attaches his lips to Chenle's jaw before he can get lost in those eyes, before they burn straight through him and Chenle can see everything he's hiding, every greedy thought and emotion Donghyuck keeps buried, tucked into a far corner of his heart.

Chenle angles his head to the side and lets Donghyuck map the skin from his lips to his neck, lets Donghyuck's hands drag down his back and dig into the divots of his ribs, the sinew of his muscles. Donghyuck rolls his hips into Chenle's as he nips at the thin skin just over his thundering pulse, and a low moan slips out of Chenle.

The sound goes right to Donghyuck's dick, and he presses one last kiss into Chenle's neck before pulling away to face him again. This time, there's a question in his eyes, a request on the tip of his tongue.

"Can I?" Donghyuck breathes, one hand sliding down Chenle's back, running over his ass before Donghyuck slips it between them, fingers ghosting over Chenle's erection.

Chenle lets out a shuddering breath and a sharp spike of delight shoots through Donghyuck at the fact that he's able to affect Chenle like this. That he can make Chenle shake just as badly as Chenle does him.

Chenle meets his eyes, and for a moment the coals have softened with something Donghyuck can't decipher. Then Chenle nods, presses a quick kiss to the corner of Donghyuck's lips, and breathes a low  _ yes _ , against his skin.

Donghyuck shifts them, switching places with Chenle so  _ he's  _ the one up against the shower wall, and Chenle's hands climb up Donghyuck's body to clutch at his shoulders as he sinks to his knees on the shower floor. Donghyuck's knees protest the position, but Donghyuck ignores the discomfort in favor of keeping his full attention of Chenle. He runs his hands down from Chenle's hips, lets one rest on his thigh, fingers pressing into the muscle there to ground himself as he takes Chenle's cock in his other hand and strokes, just to see how Chenle will react.

It's instant gratification. Chenle's lashes flutter even as he keeps his gaze trained on Donghyuck, and his lips - red and kiss-bitten and shining from spit and the water from the shower - part in such a pretty picture that Donghyuck wishes he could capture and save it, remember it forever. One of Chenle's hands leaves Donghyuck's shoulder to tangle in the wet mess of his hair, and Donghyuck decides he doesn't have it in himself to tease Chenle tonight.

Donghyuck takes him into his mouth, hand still loosely holding what he can't get his lips around, and Chenle's fingers tighten in his hair. Chenle groans his name, and that same sharp pride slices through Donghyuck once more. He wants to hear Chenle gasp his name again and again. Wants to feel Chenle desperate for him, asking for him like a prayer. Wants to believe - trick himself into thinking - that for now, at least, this is more than what it is. That this means as much for Chenle as it does for Donghyuck.

It's a high like a drug— Donghyuck knows there will be a terrible crash when reality sets in again and he remembers that this is just physical, just the benefit of closeness without the messiness of emotion. Donghyuck knows, but for now, he'll still pretend. He'll chase this high while he helps Chenle to a different one of his own. And when Chenle basks in the afterglow, Donghyuck will tell himself this is enough. It has to be.

_ "Donghyuck,"  _ Chenle gasps as Donghyuck bobs his head up and down, tongue flattened and curling in the way he knows makes Chenle tense and squirm and keen for more.

Donghyuck hums, aware of how the vibrations will hit Chenle— like a stray spark landing on a pool of gasoline and leaping into a blaze all at once. And just as Donghyuck expects, Chenle hisses, and his hips buck up into Donghyuck, desperate. Donghyuck fights back his gag reflex and shifts his left hand from Chenle's thigh to his hip, gripping hard and pushing back so Chenle doesn't choke him.

Chenle breathes something like a wrecked apology from above Donghyuck, but it's nearly lost in the steady sound of the shower water beating down on Donghyuck's back. Donghyuck accepts it regardless of how garbled it is, takes it like a high mark on a test. He hollows his cheeks and sucks, and Chenle gasps, high and thin and everything Donghyuck wants to hear.

Donghyuck curls his tongue again and slips off enough to close his lips around the head of Chenle’s cock, licking lightly at the tip just to feel Chenle shake above him like a leaf in a storm. Chenle whines his name again, high and needy, and heat twists sharply in Donghyuck. His untouched cock aches against his stomach, but his focus on Chenle doesn’t waver. 

The water raining down on Donghyuck’s back beats steadily like the drum of his heart, and he takes Chenle deeper into his mouth again and again, relishing in every little noise he’s able to drag out of him, all the hushed, broken whispers of his name. Chenle’s grip in Donghyuck’s hair tightens nearly to the point of pain, but the pressure merely spurs Donghyuck on. 

He’s more than ready to take Chenle all the way to his climax, to give him exactly what he came into Donghyuck’s room and his shower for, but just when Donghyuck thinks they’re nearing the edge, Chenle’s hips jerk back, and he stutters out a breathless  _ wait.  _

Donghyuck pulls away, hands slipping down Chenle’s thighs and then falling empty at his sides. He looks up at Chenle, confused, worry that he’s done something wrong creeping up on him. But Chenle’s right hand crawls up from Donghyuck’s shoulder to cup his cheek with gentle, trembling fingers, and he shakes his head like he already knows what Donghyuck is about to ask. 

“You’re amazing,” Chenle breathes before Donghyuck can get caught in his own head, “always amazing.” His grip in Donghyuck’s hair loosens and then he’s holding Donghyuck’s face in his hands like something precious, encouraging him to stand again. Chenle helps him to his feet and meets Donghyuck’s gaze with hunger and certainty. “I want you to feel good, too,” he says. 

Donghyuck blinks at him, trying to fight back his own desperation as Chenle brushes a thumb against his cheek. 

“Let me take care of you too,” Chenle says, determination laced through his wrecked voice.

And Donghyuck— he as good as crumbles. “Okay,” he breathes, something in his chest shaking and rattling like Chenle is a hurricane threatening to tear away the shutters keeping Donghyuck’s heart sheltered from the storm. 

It’s all Chenle needs to hear before dragging Donghyuck into another kiss, searing enough to cauterize the open wound between Donghyuck’s ribs where he aches and _aches_ and yearns for more. For all of Chenle, not just this. 

One of Chenle’s hands snakes down Donghyuck’s body, slipping between them to grip Donghyuck’s cock, thumb pressing into the head so that Donghyuck’s hips cant forward and he shudders, overwhelmed by the slightest touch after ignoring his own want for so long. 

Donghyuck clutches at Chenle’s sides, fingers digging in enough that Chenle’s ribs will likely be littered with the half moon imprints of Donghyuck’s nails when they separate. Chenle’s arm wraps around Donghyuck’s back, holding him close as the kiss turns sloppy and Chenle’s lips begin to trail heat down Donghyuck’s jaw to his neck. 

“Donghyuck,” Chenle breathes, mouth hot over Donghyuck’s pulse, “I want to do this properly.” His voice is low, whisper-thin like candy floss nearly pulled apart, melting on his tongue.

Donghyuck inhales sharply as Chenle nips at his throat, grip tightening in tandem with the bite. “Shower sex not proper enough for a gentleman like you?” Donghyuck jokes, though the effectiveness of it is lost in how breathy the question comes out.

Chenle huffs out a laugh, lips still ghosting over Donghyuck’s skin. “You’re so gorgeous,” he says. “I want to see you laid out on the bedsheets for me.”

For Chenle. Donghyuck is helpless; he wants Chenle so much he’ll take him any way he can get. And the thought of Chenle pressing him into the stark white sheets, taking his time and fucking him properly instead of just getting him off sloppily here, behind the steamed-over door of the shower— it drives Donghyuck mad. 

So Donghyuck gathers all his strength and moves away from Chenle enough to center himself, to catch his breath so he doesn’t faint. “Did you bring-”

“Yes,” Chenle answers before he can even finish the question. With Donghyuck out of reach of his hands and lips, Chenle settles for simply watching him with that maddening hunger in his eyes. “Do you want to?”

Donghyuck swallows, aching all over, heart jack-rabbiting in his chest. “Yes,” he says. “Please.”

Chenle wraps a hand around Donghyuck’s arm at the bend of his elbow and tugs him back gently so he can kiss him square on the mouth again, slow and sweet and filled with the promise of more. When he breaks away, Donghyuck chases thoughtlessly after his lips, sighing at the loss. Chenle’s smiling when Donghyuck opens his eyes again, and this time it’s not the grin of a criminal, but something softer, genuine. 

Somehow that’s even more dangerous, because Donghyuck’s heart squeezes in his chest, and pressure builds behind his eyes. Donghyuck is falling,  _ plummeting _ , air rushing past his ears and deafening him. He doesn’t know how far the ground is, but he knows when he hits it, it’ll hurt like hell. Knows that when he breaks, it’ll be in a million little pieces. 

But with Chenle looking at him like this, he doesn’t care. For now, while he still hasn’t crashed down yet, he can smile at Chenle and pretend this rush isn’t falling, but flying. Can pretend Chenle will soften his landing when the rush fades and the high slips away, that he won’t just disappear for weeks after this business trip ends before they start everything all over again.

“Did you want to shower for real, or were you just cold?” Chenle asks, eyes flickering past Donghyuck to the knob of the shower.

Donghyuck laughs through his nose. Of course he’d known the second he agreed to let Chenle follow him in here that he wouldn’t get anything from this shower but the heat of the water. The small bar of hotel soap still sits in its package on the sink counter, proof of this. He shakes his head. “I’ll shower for real later.”

Chenle nods in acknowledgement and reaches for the knob, killing the water in seconds. 

Shower head reduced to feeble drips before running dry, Donghyuck reaches for the door with trembling hands, pushing it open and letting out a wall of steam. The air outside the shower is noticeably cooler, and Donghyuck shivers as he steps out and snatches one of the towels off the bar on the wall, stepping aside so Chenle can follow in his footsteps and do the same. 

It’s a mad dash from there— Donghyuck rubs the towel down his body, skin prickling and nerves alight so that every touch makes the blood rushing through his arteries sing like a songbird in the morning. Chenle moves so quickly he nearly stumbles on his way out of the bathroom to dig through his things for the lube and condoms he’d stowed away for the trip because he’d  _ known  _ this was how it was all going to end. 

Donghyuck gets himself dry enough (still damp, hair dripping steadily down his back, but no longer soaking wet) and stuffs the towel back over the drying bar, uncaring of how messily it hangs. He practically chases after Chenle, leaving the light on as he steps out of the bathroom and comes face to face with Chenle as he straightens up from his luggage, hands clutched around everything they need. 

The sight makes the wire of heat in Donghyuck’s gut twist even tighter, burn even hotter. All he wants is for Chenle to put his hands back on him, white out his mind so he doesn’t have to think about what all this means anymore. 

Chenle must see the eagerness in Donghyuck’s eyes, painted across his face, because he grins, bright as a sparkler, and tosses his head back in the direction of the bed. He doesn’t need to say anything; Donghyuck takes him by the arm and drags him to the bed. Chenle tosses down the condom and lube, and rounds on Donghyuck. 

“You’re so hot when you’re desperate,” he says on an exhale before pulling Donghyuck into his arms and kissing him so hard Donghyuck’s head spins. He’s not even able to point out that now Chenle is acting more desperate than he is— any comment he might make is stolen right out of his mouth with the curl of Chenle’s tongue. Chenle sucks on Donghyuck’s lip and it’s like he snatches all the air out of Donghyuck’s lungs too, leaving him winded when he breaks away and backs Donghyuck up into the bed. 

Donghyuck’s thighs hit the mattress and he lets himself tumble backwards onto it, reaching out for some part of Chenle to grab so he can drag him down too. Chenle makes a small sound of surprise, and catches himself on his hands right over Donghyuck. A smile breaks out on his face like dawn in the morning, pink and bright. 

“Just as pretty as I knew you would be,” he says softly. The confession makes Donghyuck’s heart lurch, his dick twitch. The ache in his chest deepens as Chenle stays there, watching him as he readjusts on the bed. Then, as soon as he’s settled, Chenle comes after him, is on top of him in an instant.

Chenle kisses him again, like he’s starving and Donghyuck is all he wants, all he needs to satiate his hunger. His chest presses against Donghyuck’s, skin on skin so that Donghyuck can feel two racing heartbeats pounding against his ribs. Chenle holds himself up with one hand and reaches for the lube with his other, feeling blindly across the duvet until he finds what he’s looking for. Donghyuck knows exactly when that is, because he can feel Chenle’s lips curl into a smile against his.

Chenle pulls back, eyes dark and hooded as he looks at Donghyuck. He runs a hand down Donghyuck’s side and relishes in the feeling of him shaking at the touch alone. “You said nothing felt real before, right?” Chenle asks, brushing his lips against Donghyuck’s jaw once before turning his focus to the lube, popping the cap, eyes flickering between it and Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck nods, though he barely remembers that scene from under the awning outside the hotel. It feels so long ago, and now his mind and all his senses are flooded with nothing but Chenle.

Chenle dips his head, pressing an open-mouthed kiss to Donghyuck’s collar. “I want this to feel real,” he says. His breath is hot on Donghyuck’s skin, but the words send shivers racing down his spine. 

Donghyuck bites his tongue, silent as Chenle kisses him again, lower and lower. He doesn’t know how to say that this never quite feels real. That this always feels like the kind of dream Donghyuck might wake from any second. A sweet, sweet dream— heavy vanilla flooding all his senses, thick and cloying, inviting him to stay and forget the rest of the world, but a dream nonetheless. No matter how much he  _ wants  _ it to be real. Wants it to last, wants to have Chenle by his side all the time, hear him calling his name even when they’re not on their knees for each other. 

But that’s a daydream. Just a wish. Just— 

Every thought flies out of Donghyuck’s head all at once. Somehow, he’d missed Chenle maneuvering the lube in his hands, and is snapped back to his senses by Chenle’s fingers on the inside of his thigh, high and slipping easily over his sensitive skin, slicked with more than just water. 

“Do you want to grab a pillow?” Chenle asks, voice throaty as he stares at Donghyuck with an open hunger in his eyes. 

Donghyuck swallows, already overwhelmed, and throws a hand back over his head, grasping blindly for a pillow to drag down. After a moment, his fingers fist in the fabric of a case, and he tugs, bringing the pillow down to his side. He lifts his hips up off the bed, and Chenle uses his clean hand to help position the pillow under him. When Donghyuck settles back down, Chenle is still gently stroking the inside of his thigh, and the skin there feels like it’s burning— Chenle’s fingers an open flame licking against Donghyuck’s body. 

“Good?” Chenle asks, meeting Donghyuck’s eyes and searching. The question could almost be innocent if not for the way Chenle is sitting naked between Donghyuck’s legs, one hand on his hip bone and the other still stroking maddeningly up and down his thigh. 

Donghyuck presses his lips together and nods, trying not to twitch as Chenle’s fingers venture higher up his leg. 

Chenle tilts his head to the side, fingers stilling. Waiting. 

Donghyuck hates how much he doesn’t hate this. “Good,” he exhales shakily in answer to Chenle’s silent demand. 

Chenle smiles, something between satisfied and still oh-so wanting. His fingers move again, teasing, and Donghyuck almost has half a mind to fight against his own breathlessness and tell Chenle to stop torturing him when all of a sudden he does just that.

Every last breath of air Donghyuck had been holding in his lungs is as good as punched out of him; Chenle leans forward over him, pressing open-mouthed kisses to his stomach as he starts to work him open. It’s slow, deliberate, agonizing. Donghyuck clutches the duvet in a white-knuckled grip, holding on for dear life while Chenle distracts him from the torment of his fingers with wet kisses and the heat of his hand still holding Donghyuck’s hip down so he can’t jerk up into Chenle. 

Donghyuck’s skin prickles and blazes, and tension coiling tighter and tighter in his gut until he can hardly stand it. Until he’s sweating and whining and writhing in the white sea of the duvet just like Chenle wants.  _ “Please,”  _ he chokes when he can’t take it any longer. When he’s sure Chenle has prepared him more than enough and is just dragging it out to get him to beg.

Chenle stills, lifting his lips from Donghyuck’s ribs to meet his gaze head on again. The sight of Chenle’s eyes, dark and glittering like a starry night sky, is so captivating it nearly makes Donghyuck forget how to breathe, let alone speak, but his skin is crawling with heat and it overpowers his heart for a moment. Just long enough for him to gasp,  _ “Please, Chenle. I need you.” _

The words make something visibly spark across Chenle’s face. It seems that’s all he needs to hear to get him to draw back enough to reach across the bed for the condom package. He snatches it up and rips it open with shaking hands, suddenly frantic. Donghyuck watches, unable to tear his eyes away. It’s like it’s all happening in fast-motion. In between blinks, Chenle has slipped the condom on and is reaching for the lube again. 

Donghyuck blinks again and then Chenle is  _ right there _ , on his knees, pushing Donghyuck’s legs back and looking down at him like he’s the only thing in the world. Chenle reaches out and strokes Donghyuck once with his slicked hand, drawing a desperate whine out of him before he lines his hips up with Donghyuck’s and presses in. 

Something catches in the back of Donghyuck’s throat, high and choked off as Chenle bottoms out. Everything burns like he’s kerosene-soaked kindling and Chenle is putting a match to him, lighting him up in an instant. It hits Donghyuck then, as flames wrap around his body and engulf him when Chenle’s hands grip his hips like iron, that this doesn’t feel like a dream. This is  _ real _ , impossibly so. 

This is Chenle panting over him, fucking into him slowly at first, careful not to hurt him, before Donghyuck adjusts and he can set a harder, faster rhythm that makes Donghyuck fucking  _ quiver _ in his hands. Donghyuck can feel it all with crystalline clarity— Chenle’s nails digging into his skin, sweat beading on his chest so he glistens in the overhead light, his dick dragging against Donghyuck in a way that makes him see stars flickering in the ceiling above them. 

He can hear himself, calling Chenles’s name, voice so wrecked it’s nearly unrecognizable. Chenle responds to it, though, grip tightening further, hips stuttering, held in place by Donghyuck’s ankles locked around his middle. Chenle bends over Donghyuck and kisses him, sloppy and desperate, groaning lowly at the new angle. Donghyuck arches up into him, hands grasping at his arms, holding him in place as his tongue grazes Donghyuck’s and Donghyuck nips at his lip a little too hard. 

_ “God,”  _ Chenle breathes, sounding just as wrecked as Donghyuck as he breaks away from the kiss, “you’re so good.  _ So good.”  _ He pulls back, repositioning so he can pick up where he left off, and Donghyuck whines at the loss of contact for only a moment before Chenle thrusts into him again and his brain whites out. 

Donghyuck loses track of time, of how loud he’s getting, how loud they  _ both  _ are— everything disappears but the points of searing contact where Chenle touches him. Donghyuck forgets the overwhelming ache in his chest, the hollowness that had cut through him earlier. For just a little while, Chenle is the only thing that matters, the only person in the world. 

Chenle’s grip on Donghyuck’s sides shifts, and his hips stutter as he touches Donghyuck’s throbbing cock, wrapping his fingers loosely around it and pressing his thumb against the head.

Donghyuck lets out a strangled cry, jerking in Chenle’s hold, desperate for more. The burning knot of desire in his gut is a tightly-wound serpent, just on the edge of twisting and sinking its fangs into him, flooding him with a sweet, fiery venom. Donghyuck’s pulse thunders under his skin, a deafening rush in his ears. Chenle’s strokes grow frantic, and he loses the beat as he chases after the same high Donghyuck is teetering on the edge of now. Every nerve in his body is alight, synapses firing like bullets, quick and exploding, again and again until it’s all too much. 

Donghyuck’s head presses back into the duvet and his body tenses like a bowstring, and Chenle’s hips snap against him and the pressure cracks right down the middle, splitting him open against the mattress. Donghyuck’s vision goes white as he comes, clenching as a choked whine of Chenle’s name tears out of his throat. 

Chenle curses, nails digging into the skin of Donghyuck’s waist as he helps Donghyuck through his orgasm, then hits his own moments later. Chenle rocks against Donghyuck until he’s utterly spent, and then he releases his grip on Donghyuck, pulling out and discarding the condom in the trash near the bed before collapsing into Donghyuck’s side, trembling against him. 

Donghyuck struggles to catch his breath, blinking rapidly until his vision clears and he can see the stark white ceiling overhead.

Chenle’s breath is hot on Donghyuck’s neck, and he presses his lips to the sweaty skin there, mouthing at his throat. “You’re so incredible,” he breathes, one of his hands trailing down Donghyuck’s stomach, rubbing absently, fingers brushing the edges of the mess coating Donghyuck’s skin. “I love it when you call my name.”

The confession makes Donghyuck shiver, shaking as Chenle threads one of his legs between Donghyuck’s as if he simply wants to be as close as he can. Donghyuck lets out a measured breath, cooling as he comes down from the high. Chenle is just basking in the afterglow, just wants to be close to relish the feeling as long as possible, to stay warm even after the blinding heat fades. That’s all this is.

Still, Donghyuck can’t help the way his heart kicks in his chest at the praise. He finds an admission crawling up his throat before he can bite it back and swallow it down. “I love it when you say my name, too.”

Chenle’s lips press a smile into Donghyuck’s skin.  _ “Donghyuck,”  _ he whispers, nuzzling his face further into Donghyuck’s neck, arm wrapping around his middle and just  _ holding  _ him. 

Something shakes beneath Donghyuck’s ribs.  _ Something _ . Like he doesn’t know exactly what it is. “Yeah,” he says weakly. Always weak when it comes to Chenle. 

“I like saying your name too, Donghyuck,” Chenle confesses. 

Donghyuck’s heart lurches, fluttering like a startled bird. He can barely breathe. 

Chenle doesn’t say anything more, and Donghyuck stays silent as well, afraid any noise he might make would burst this pristine bubble wrapped around them, sending Chenle packing. As selfish as it is, Donghyuck wants to at least enjoy this closeness while it lasts, no matter how fleeting it may be. If Chenle leaves -  _ when  _ Chenle leaves - Donghyuck doesn’t want it to be because of something he’s done.

And soon, like clockwork, a few minutes later, Chenle exhales deeply and begins to shift, pulling away and propping himself up on his elbow beside Donghyuck. 

Donghyuck tries not to visibly brace for the goodbye, but— 

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” Chenle says instead of what Donghyuck expects. “And me too. We’re both stupid sticky.” The words are light, laced with humor, but Chenle’s eyes are warm when he looks at Donghyuck. Steady. “You want that shower now or is the flight catching up to you?” He smiles, looks almost fond. “You look exhausted.”

“I wonder why,” Donghyuck manages to say around the lump in his throat and the constricting of his chest.

Chenle laughs, light and tired. “Showers in the morning, I guess,” he says. He scoots to the edge of the bed and pushes off it to his feet.

Donghyuck watches, frozen, as he disappears into the bathroom. There’s the sound of running water, and a minute later, Chenle returns with one of the washcloths in his hands, dampened but not quite dripping. He kneels on the bed beside Donghyuck, mattress dipping under his weight, and wipes Donghyuck’s stomach and chest clean. When he pulls back, he lingers, the washcloth crumpled in his hand. 

“Is it…” he glances away, as if he’s struggling to meet Donghyuck’s eyes. “Is it okay if I… stay the night here.” He swallows, looks at Donghyuck again with rosy cheeks. “It just seems— I can’t get all my things— I think it would be—” he cuts off, unable to find the right words. His voice falls to little more than a whisper as he asks, “Can I?” 

Donghyuck blinks up at him. He’s not sure what this means, whether his heart can take a whole night which Chenle in bed with him, whether he’ll be able to handle it if he wakes up to find that Chenle has slipped away before sunrise. He’s not sure of anything but his answer. “Yes,” he says without hesitation. He nods too, for good measure, tugging the pillow out from under himself and tossing it on the floor near the bed. Even with that one gone, there are still enough at the headboard for both of them. “You can stay.” 

_ Always, if you could ever want that. _

A soft, relieved smile blooms on Chenle’s lips like a spring flower. It makes Donghyuck’s heart sing in his chest, beating out a silent song for Chenle. 

“You brushed your teeth on the plane, too, right?” Chenle asks, finally pushing off the bed. 

Donghyuck nods, and Chenle smiles wider. “Perfect.” He slips away to the bathroom once more, and Donghyuck lets out a shuddering breath, eyes falling shut. Chenle is staying the night. Chenle is  _ staying _ . 

Donghyuck is sure it’s just out of convenience, so Chenle doesn’t have to gather up his luggage and his wet clothes and redress before leaving Donghyuck’s room to make it to his own, but Donghyuck is good at pretending. And just for now, he’ll let himself pretend this is just because Chenle  _ wants  _ to stay, and nothing else. 

Donghyuck climbs up the bed and tucks himself under the covers, head sinking into the pillow like a cloud. The exhaustion wraps him up all at once. As soon as he’s cocooned in the blankets, everything catches up to him, fatigue tugging at his eyelids and weighing his body down. 

Chenle returns from the bathroom, the click of two light switches sounding through the room before it falls into semi-darkness. The sun has barely set beyond the curtained windows, so some light seeps through, but it doesn’t matter. They’re both wiped enough to fall asleep without any problem.

Chenle crosses the room silently, reaches the far side of the bed and lifts up the covers to crawl in next to Donghyuck. Instead of stopping at his own pillow, Chenle scoots close enough that he’s almost touching Donghyuck again. “Is this okay?” he whispers in the dark.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck breathes as his eyes fall shut. 

Chenle reaches for him, resting a tentative arm across his chest. When Donghyuck curls into him instead of protesting, Chenle breathes out a sigh and curls into Donghyuck as well, so they’re two commas wrapped around each other. 

Donghyuck can feel Chenle’s heart hammering in his chest, and is sure Chenle can feel his as well, but he’s so tired that he can’t find it in himself to care that this might give him away. Even now, as he drifts closer to sleep, his heart calms, steadies. Chenle is warm against him, breathing evenly. Donghyuck is exhausted and content. Satiated all the way through— even the ache in his chest seems to have subsided, filled by Chenle’s presence beside him. 

Come morning light, he’ll have to think about what this means, if not for Chenle, then for  _ him.  _ He’ll have to acknowledge that this means he’s as good as gone for Chenle, even if Chenle doesn’t feel the same. That he’ll keep coming back to this again and again until it breaks, because as foolish as it may be, this is what he wants. Any moment he can get like this.  _ Chenle _ . 

He wants this,  _ him _ . 

In the morning, he’ll have to consider all of this before letting Chenle sink into his arms for another stolen kiss. But it’s not morning yet, and for now, all Donghyuck has to do is enjoy it. Savor it. 

This sweet, sweet dream. Just Chenle. Just him. This hotel room their own private little world. For now, this is all that matters.

Donghyuck falls asleep wrapped in Chenle’s arms. His dreams are hazy, thick with the smell of vanilla. 

It’s enough.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you v and i for holding my hand throughout this and keeping me from just closing my eyes and deleting it every time i wanted to ( and for just being so fucking sweet in general <3 )


End file.
